Ghost Threat
by JJ Rust
Summary: Selected Marvel and DC heroes come together to form a new Avengers team. A fellow hero warns the Avengers of an imminent invasion by other-dimensional beings. But is this threat real or is this hero hiding a secret that could endanger the entire team?
1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe he got away."

Clint "Hawkeye" Barton glared out the Quinjet's canopy, his eyes sweeping over the sky and the Atlantic Ocean below. For three hours they'd been searching the Northeast United States for any sign of the Wizard. They spotted debris from the villain's mass driver the Avengers managed to destroy before it could wipe out the entire Eastern Seaboard. As for the Wizard himself, there was no sign.

Growling, Hawkeye got on the radio. "Hawkeye to Cap."

"Captain America here," replied the team's leader from another Quinjet. "Go, Hawkeye."

"Sorry to report we've got no joy on this end."

"Same here. Looks like the Wizard gave us the slip . . . again." That last word came out with an edge.

"So what now?"

"We find as much debris from the mass driver as we can and mark it with GPS for SHIELD to pick up. The last thing we want is for any of that technology to fall into the wrong hands."

"Roger that, Cap." Hawkeye turned to the three other Avengers in the Quinjet. Wonder Woman, Colossus and Black Lightning. "All right, you heard the man. We get to play garbage man. Joy."

"I'm sure the Wizard will turn up again, Clint," Wonder Woman tried to reassure him.

He just grunted and nodded. He hated the idea of letting someone like the Wizard run loose. The guy was almost as intelligent as Reed Richards. But unlike the Fantastic Four's leader, the Wizard was a raging psycho.

"Even if we do catch him," said Black Lightning as he stared out the canopy, "he'd probably break out of the Vault five minutes after we put him in there. I mean, he is the Wizard."

Hawkeye scowled at the thought. Unfortunately, Black Lightning was probably right. "Maybe we could just zap him into another dimension. I think he'd like it in Annihilus' universe.

Black Lightning chuckled at that.

They flew along the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire, spotting debris with either their eyes or the Quinjet's thermal scanner. So far it didn't appear any of the mass driver's remains landed smack in the middle of a city.

_Thank God for that._

Hawkeye skirted the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut. He and the other Avengers spotted fragments of the mass driver around Narragansett Bay. He let out a quiet sigh of relief, thinking of the battle that raged in Earth's orbit several hours ago. They had been less than two minutes from the first meteor being launched at Washington when Black Lightning and Wasp blasted the firing mechanism.

_We always do seem to cut it close, don't we?_

He scanned around him as they flew toward Long Island Sound, taking in the sprawling towns. How many of them would have been leveled if they hadn't –

"Look!" Colossus pointed out the canopy.

"What is it?" Wonder Woman leaned closer to the glass.

Hawkeye gazed down at Fishers Island. His brow furrowed when he saw a sudden bulge in the middle of the woods. It exploded, sending trees spiraling through the air. Another blast ripped more trees from the ground.

"What the hell?" Hawkeye contacted the other Quinjet. "Cap, this is Hawkeye."

"Go, Hawkeye."

"We've got a situation here. Something's blowing up the woods on Fishers Island."

"Cause?"

"Unknown. We're going down to check it out."

"Roger," replied Captain America. "We're twenty minutes out. Be careful."

"We will. Hawkeye out."

Hawkeye banked the Quinjet right and dove for Fishers Island. He brought the aircraft to a hover, deployed the landing gear and touched down on a beach. The canopy rose. Hawkeye leaped out and pulled smoke arrow from his quiver. He nocked it as Wonder Woman, Colossus and Black Lightning also jumped out of the Quinjet. A rumbling sound rolled through the air. Hawkeye saw more trees tossed in the distant.

"Let's go." He led the other Avengers into the woods, the string of his bow taut, ready to fire.

They weaved through the trees. Hawkeye gazed around, looking for any threat. For a moment he wondered, actually hoped, it was the Wizard doing this. But no. Why would he go around destroying trees when he had to know the Avengers were looking for him? He would want to hide right now.

The rumbling grew louder.

Hawkeye steadied his breathing. He did a quick check of his teammates. All three wore determined looks as they moved deeper into the woods.

A roar filled the air. Tremors raced under his feet. Up ahead he saw several trees ripped from the ground. It couldn't have been more than 70 yards away.

"Hawkeye," Wonder Woman whispered and pointed to the right. "There."

He spotted a tall figure dart through the trees. It carried something long and slender. Too big for a rifle. A stick of some kind?

Another group of trees exploded.

"Come on."

Hawkeye took off through the woods. The other Avengers followed. He bounded from one tree to another, trying to stay concealed best he could. He caught part of the figure sticking out from behind a tree.

Eyes locked on his quarry, Hawkeye brought up his bow. The gap between them closed. Thirty yards. Twenty yards. Ten yards.

The figure swept the stick in front of him. The ground undulated and spat more trees into the air.

"You there!" Hawkeye shouted. "Stop what you're doing and turn around!"

The figure spun around and stepped into the clear. He was a tall man with tanned skin, an angular face and his black hair worn in a single braid. He wore a loose-fitting brown tunic and pants with beige hiking boots and a black eye mask.

Teeth bared, the man pointed his stick at Hawkeye.

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	2. Chapter 2

"Summoner?" Hawkeye lowered his bow.

"Hawkeye." The man named Summoner lowered his wooden stick.

"It's been a while. I haven't seen you since last year when we dealt with that vortex AIM created."

Summoner just nodded, then looked left to right, tensing, like he expected something to jump out at him.

"So any reason why you're blowing up all the trees on this island?" asked Black Lightning.

Summoner turned to the blue and yellow-clad hero, his eyes darting around the woods. "I found them."

"Who?" Wonder Woman gave him a quizzical look.

"These energy beings. I've been tracking them for six months. I found a couple of them here."

Black Lightning eyed the mass of fallen trees. "I take it these things are up to no good, given all the damage you've done."

"That's the one thing I do know about them. They are hostile." Summoner checked around the woods again. "As to what they actually are or where they come from, I still haven't found that out."

"Are these things still here?" Colossus also looked around.

"I'm not sure."

"We better sweep the woods." Hawkeye assigned each Avenger a different point on the compass. Wonder Woman north, Black Lightning south and Colossus west, while he and Summoner went east.

"Comms on at all times. Sing out if you see anything."

Hawkeye switched out arrows, going for one with a taser tip. _Fight fire with fire, or in this case, fight energy with energy. _

He felt a tinge of nervousness. There was no guarantee the arrow would work against an energy being. Unfortunately, he didn't have many other options in his quiver. He couldn't imagine a smoke or sonic arrow doing much good.

"So what do these things look like?" Hawkeye asked, his eyes sweeping the woods.

"White, oblong-shaped, somewhat hazy. They also whisper."

"Whisper?"

"That's what it sounds like. I've never been able to make out what they say, though."

Hawkeye grunted. Stranger and stranger.

_Then again, when do we ever deal with anything normal?_

They continued on for a quarter-mile, a half-mile. Hawkeye saw no sign of any hazy white energy beings. Neither did the other Avengers.

"I hate to say it, buddy, but whatever these things are, it looks like they got the hell out of Dodge."

"Dammit." Summoner banged his Elemental Stick on the ground. Ripples of dirt spread out in all directions. "I had them. I had them."

Hawkeye gave the Algonquian hero a curious look. Before he could say anything, he heard the whine of a Quinjet engine above Fishers Island. That had to be Captain America and the others. He used his comm to brief them on Summoner's story.

"Sounds like this could be serious," Cap said. "Ask Summoner to come back to the mansion with us. We'll do a full briefing and try to come up with a way to find these energy beings."

"You got it, Cap." Hawkeye looked back at Summoner. "Captain America wants to talk with you back at Avengers Mansion about these energy beings."

"I don't . . ." Summoner groaned, his face tightening.

"You don't what? You said you've been after these things for six months, and you still don't know much about them. The Avengers have access to resources you don't, resources that can help us learn what these beings are, what they're capable of and why they're here."

Summoner groaned. He gripped his Elemental Stick tighter and stared at the ground. Several seconds of silence passed before he muttered, "All right."

Hawkeye contacted Wonder Woman, Colossus and Black Lightning and told them to meet back at the Quinjet. When they all arrived, Summoner stalked over to the aircraft and climbed in without a word. Hawkeye watched him, more than a little perplexed. Summoner wasn't a motormouth like Flash or Spiderman, but neither was he anti-social.

"I did not know you knew Summoner," Colossus said, breaking Hawkeye's train of thought.

"Huh?" He turned to the large, silver-skinned Russian. Colossus had joined the team a few months after the vortex incident. He wouldn't know about Hawkeye's history with Summoner. "Oh yeah. Yeah, we we're both in SHIELD together. Actually, I trained him in hand-to-hand combat and field work. He's taken down some pretty big-time baddies. Grim Reaper, Serpent Society, he even went toe-to-toe with Sinestro once."

"Impressive."

"Yeah, which makes me wonder."

Colossus tilted his head. "About what?"

"How bad these energy beings are to make someone like Summoner that spooked."

**XXXXX**

Summoner didn't say a word during the flight back to Manhattan. He just kept staring out the canopy, as though expecting to see an energy being. A couple of times, Hawkeye caught himself doing the same thing.

_Jeez, when did you become so paranoid?_

_A better question would be when did Summoner become so paranoid?_

"So, Summoner?"

"Yes?" He kept looking out the canopy.

"How are things with you and Cathy?" Hawkeye referred to Cathy Webster, aka the superheroine Free Spirit.

Summoner barely turned toward him. "We broke up."

"What?" blurted Wonder Woman. "You two had been together for two years. What happened?"

"Things change." Summoner went back to staring out the canopy.

Wonder Woman tried to pry more information out of him. Summoner just gave her one or two word answers, clearly not eager to go into any details. Hawkeye couldn't blame him. He'd been through his share of bad break-ups and always hated it when others wanted him to talk about it.

Minutes later, he landed the Quinjet in the underground hangar at Avengers Mansion. The second Quinjet came in right behind them. Captain America got out with the remaining Avengers, Flash, Wasp and Dr. Mid-Nite.

"Summoner." Flash grinned and slapped him on the back. "Good to see you again, buddy."

"Flash." The Algonquian nodded to him.

"So what the heck is all this about energy beings? And, you know, we just got done stopping the Wizard from blowing up the whole East Coast. You could've let us have a couple of days off before springing this on us."

"I'm sorry if these things are an inconvenience to you." Summoner glowered at Flash and picked up his pace, putting more distance between him and the red-clad speedster.

Flash scratched his head and turned to Wasp. "I remember him being a lot friendlier than that."

Wasp shrugged. "Maybe he's just having a bad day."

The Avengers gathered in the second floor conference room. Glasses of water sat in front of each chair, with two water pitchers and two trays of sandwiches in the middle of the table.

_Good ol' Jarvis._

Flash took an entire tray for himself and started woofing down sandwiches as Captain America asked Summoner to explain everything he knew about the energy beings. After giving a general description, he said, "I started seeing them about six months ago, outside my cabin near Utica. Since them, I've seen them in Albany, Red Hook, Northville, Peekskill and here in New York."

"And you're sure they're hostile?" asked Wasp.

Summoner's head snapped toward her. His jaw clenched, as though trying to hold back an angry outburst. He took a slow breath and answered, "Yes, I'm sure. They tried to attack me."

"How?" asked Captain America.

"Some sort of electric tendril. Look, trust me, whatever they are, they are not friendly."

"What about this whispering you told me about?" Hawkeye reached out for a sandwich. Crisis or not, he was still hungry.

"Whispering?" Dr. Mid-Nite leaned forward, shocked. "These things can talk?"

"Apparently. I have no idea what they're saying."

Captain America tapped on a keyboard embedded in the table. Behind him a map of the northeast appeared on a wall monitor. "Summoner, go to the screen and touch all the places where you've seen these beings."

Summoner did as requested. When he finished, Captain America gazed at the screen, pinching his chin with his thumb and index finger.

"It looks like most of your sightings are around Utica, where you live, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you think they might be trying to contact you personally?" Wasp wondered.

"I don't see why they would."

"Well along with Utica," Cap said, "the bulk of Summoner's sightings are in upstate New York. I say we split up and go over these places with EMF detectors. If these energy beings are around, we should be able to find them."

"Another possibility is they come from another dimension," Dr. Mid-Nite theorized. "If there is some kind of portal they're using to cross into our world, the EMF detectors should pick that up as well."

Captain America nodded. "Good point. Okay, Hawkeye, you go with Summoner and check out Utica. Wonder Woman and Colossus can take Albany, Flash and Wasp Peekskill and I'll take Black Lightning and Dr. Mid-Nite to check out New York City."

The heroes stood, many grabbing a sandwich or two before heading out of the conference room. Hawkeye walked alongside Summoner, munching on a turkey and cheese sandwich. The Algonquian had his head down, his expression stiff.

"Don't worry. We'll find these things and stop 'em."

Summoner turned to Hawkeye, a grim look on his face. "We'd better. If we don't, the whole world will suffer."

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	3. Chapter 3

The Quinjet sped north, with Hawkeye at the controls. Summoner sat in the co-pilot's seat, quiet. But the purple-clad archer sensed and air of anxiousness around the other hero. At one point the silence became so unbearable Hawkeye actually considered asking Summoner why he and Free Spirit broke up. He stopped himself, figuring if Summoner really wanted to talk about it, he'd say something. Instead he went with a safer topic.

"So how's Syracuse Basketball looking?" Hawkeye knew Summoner was a huge fan of the Orange.

"I have more important things to think about right now than sports."

"Okay," Hawkeye muttered. _So much for passing the time._

It was late afternoon when they reached Summoner's cabin in the woods outside Utica. They jumped out of the cockpit, each hero clutching an EMF detector.

"Well, let's see if we can pick something up." Hawkeye tried to sound hopeful.

Summoner said nothing. He just headed off to the right side of his cabin, glancing at the EMF detector every few seconds.

Hawkeye walked toward the left side of the cabin. His eyes flickered between the display screen and the woods around him. All the while he ran through scenarios of what to do if they ran into one of these energy beings. Just like back on Fishers Island, he doubted any of his arrows would affect them. That left him with his hand-to-hand combat skills. But in his experience, punching and kicking beings of energy was about as effective as eating soup with chopsticks. Sometimes it could even be fatal. At least Summoner had real powers, so long as he held on to that Elemental Stick of his. Still, would the power to summon earth, wind, fire and water be useful against pure energy?

Hawkeye walked further away from the cabin. Nothing showed on the EMF detector. He'd hoped there at least be some residual signature, given all the times Summoner said the energy beings popped up here.

_I wonder what they want. I wonder why they seem interested in Summoner. _He thought about how Summoner said the beings whispered to him. If only the Algonquian hero could make out what –

"Hawkeye," Summoner said through the comm.

"Go."

"I see one."

Hawkeye held his breath. His muscles tensed. "I'm on my way."

He sprinted off, pocketing the EMF detector and snatching a taser arrow from his quiver. When he rounded the cabin, he spotted Summoner on a rise 70 yards away. Hawkeye brought up his bow, never breaking stride. His eyes swept over the area. He found now sign of an energy being.

Hawkeye stopped next to Summoner, ready to launch his arrow. "Where is it?"

"It was here." Agitation coated Summoner's tone. "Just now."

He whipped his head to Hawkeye. "Come on. We have to find it."

The pair hurried up the rise. Hawkeye scanned in all directions. Nothing.

Much as he hated to do it, he dropped his bow to his side and pulled out the EMF detector. If the energy being was around, this should pick it up. He swept the device in a complete 360.

"Summoner."

"What?"

Hawkeye shook his head. "I've got nothing on the EMF."

Summoner's eyes widened. "That can't be. It was just here. I saw it."

"I don't know what to tell you."

"Take another reading. You have to pick up something."

Again Hawkeye swept the EMF detector in all directions. Frowning, he looked to Summoner. "I'm sorry. There's nothing out of the ordinary."

"That's not possible!" Summoner stomped toward him, teeth bared. Hawkeye was about to say something to calm him down when the Algonquian hero softened his tone. "You saw it though, right? You must have seen it."

"I'm sorry." Hawkeye shook his head. "I didn't. It must have disappeared by the time I got here."

Summoner stood statue still. The longer the silence went on, the more uneasy Hawkeye felt. Deep down inside, he got this sense that something was building inside his friend and fellow hero, something about to explode.

He was right.

"They exist, dammit! I saw it! I've been seeing them for months!"

Summoner shook with rage. "You don't believe me! You think I'm making this up!"

It took a couple of seconds for Hawkeye to get over the shock of such an uncharacteristic outburst. "Wha . . . What are you talking about? How many years have we known each other? Why would I think you were lying?"

"No one believes me! No one! Dammit, these things are a threat to everyone on the planet. Why can't anyone see that?"

"Summoner, calm down. What the hell's gotten into you?"

"I'm trying to save the world! Isn't that what you Avengers do? So why are you ignoring this?"

"We're not ignoring it. I'm sure sooner or later we'll find one of these beings."

"Stop patronizing me!" Summoner slammed his Elemental Stick into the ground. A roar battered the air. The earth shook. Hawkeye flew off the ground, a powerful wind screeching in his ears. He twisted in mid-air and curled into a ball just as he landed, rolling across the ground. In one fluid motion, he spun around and raised his bow. He stared down the taser arrow right at Summoner.

"Summoner, don't make me do this."

The other hero acted like he didn't hear Hawkeye. "If you don't want to stop them, I will!"

A hurricane-force wind blasted through the woods. It centered on Summoner and pushed him into the air. Hawkeye watched him rise higher and higher, then fly off to the north.

He lowered his bow and stood, staring at the sky, replaying the outburst in his head, the same question echoing in his head over and over again.

_What's wrong with Summoner?_

**XXXXX**

Hawkeye and the other Avengers returned to the mansion well after sunset. None of them found a trace of any energy beings.

Instead of joining the others for a late dinner, Hawkeye retreated to the roof. He perched himself atop one of the dormers. The lights of Manhattan stretched before him. Not that he noticed. All his thoughts were on his earlier episode with Summoner.

Wind whistled nearby. Not a natural wind. It was the sort of sound he always heard from flying superhumans. He looked up to find Wonder Woman rising toward him.

"Something's troubling you." It was more a question than a statement.

"It's that obvious, huh?"

"I'm sure we'll find these energy beings. Captain America suggested we go see Reed Richards, Doctor Strange and Green Lantern. They might be able to shed some light on where these things come from."

"Energy beings aren't the only thing I'm concerned about. Summoner today . . ." Hawkeye shook his head. "I've never seen him like that before."

"He's probably frustrated he hasn't learned where the energy beings come from. I'm sure breaking up with Free Spirit hasn't helped his mood."

"Bullcrap."

Wonder Woman looked taken aback by the sharp reply.

Hawkeye scowled. "Summoner doesn't lose his head like that. I went on plenty of missions with him when we were with SHIELD. We were in some situations that had a sphincter factor of about twenty."

Wonder Woman gave him a puzzled look. Hawkeye guessed "sphincter factor" was not a common term among Amazons.

He didn't bother explaining, just went on with his point. "Summoner always kept his head, no matter how bad things got. Even before he was in SHIELD, before he became Summoner, he was an Air Force para-rescue jumper. Hairy missions are their specialty. Then he had to go through his trial to prove to the Algonquian elders he was worthy to carry the Elemental Staff. You need incredible discipline to use that thing. This is a guy that doesn't get rattled, not by energy beings giving him the slip, and not by his girlfriend dumping him."

He stood up. "Something's going on with him, something damn serious if he's flying off the handle the way he did."

"What do you think it is?" asked Wonder Woman.

"I don't know. Probably the only way to find out is to ask him, but after what happened today I don't see him being forthcoming."

Wonder Woman hovered closer to him. "I may have an idea."

"I'm all ears."

"Summoner may not talk to you about what's bothering him, but there might be someone else. Someone who probably knows him better than anyone else."

"His mother?"

"No. I was thinking about his girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend. They were together for two years. I doubt there's anything she doesn't know about Summoner."

Hawkeye looked away from Wonder Woman and gazed at the brilliant Manhattan skyline. "Well, I guess we better pay a visit to Free Spirit."

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	4. Chapter 4

Hawkeye and Wonder Woman went to Free Spirit's apartment in Canarsie, only to find she wasn't home. And if a superhero wasn't home at nine o'clock at night, they had to be out on patrol.

The two Avengers split up to find her, Hawkeye going west on his Sky-Cycle, Wonder Woman flying east. He donned night vision goggles, scanning the rooftops below. So far he saw no sign of Free Spirit.

Hawkeye clenched and unclenched the handlebars. He wondered if Summoner still tromped around upstate New York searching for these energy beings. He also wondered if the Algonquian hero remained pissed off at him.

"_You don't believe me! You think I'm making this up!"_

Hawkeye shook his head. What would make Summoner say something like that? Could it be stress, like Wonder Woman suggested? Again he dismissed that. If you let stress get to you like that, you were not cut out for this business.

A more disturbing thought came to him. What if these energy beings somehow affected Summoner's mind? Maybe they wanted to drive him insane.

_But for what purpose?_

Hawkeye soared over Brooklyn, hoping to catch sight of Free Spirit or for Wonder Woman to report that she'd spotted her.

A half-hour went by without either happening.

He felt tempted to just bag it and head back to the mansion. It had been a long day. He was starving and his eyelids grew heavier with each passing minute. A roast beef sandwich before crawling into a soft bed sounded great right now.

Then he'd think about Summoner and that outburst of his. Hawkeye rid himself of all thoughts of food and sleep and kept going.

He approached Mill Island, a glass and steel skyscraper in front of him. The huge lighted sign on the roof read OSCORP. Hawkeye veered left, looking at the rows of houses on the other side of Jamaica Bay. Would Free Spirit be patrolling the suburbs?

A nasally wail came from the OsCorp building. Hawkeye turned to it. Red lights flashed over the front entrance.

_What going on here?_

A fifth floor window shattered. Glass shards fell to the ground.

Along with a gorilla.

Right behind it floated an orangutan with a large, cylindrical device hovering over its head.

"Swell." Hawkeye activated his comm. "Hawkeye to Wonder Woman."

"Go, Hawkeye."

"I'm at the OsCorp building along Jamaica Bay. Two Super-Apes just crashed out of a window."

"Super-Apes? Is the Red Ghost there?"

"I don't see him, but I'm sure he's close by."

The glass front doors shattered. A baboon tumbled across the walkway. It got to its feet, howled and transformed its arms into maces. An athletic-looking blond woman in a form fitting red and blue costume stepped out of the OsCorp building. She crouched, arms up, ready to fight.

"Oh," Hawkeye said. "I also found Free Spirit."

"Understood," replied Wonder Woman. "I'm on my way."

Hawkeye dove toward the parking lot. A dark SUV with flashing lights barreled toward the gorilla – Mikhlo - and the orangutan – Peotr. OsCorp security. Mikhlo let out a roar and leaped into the air. He landed on the roof of the SUV, caving it in. The wrecked vehicle slid forward, Mikhlo riding it like a mangled surfboard.

Hawkeye landed and jumped off the Sky-Cycle. He caught sight of Free Spirit ducking a blow from the baboon's mace arm. She nailed the mutated animal with a sidekick, stunning it.

Hawkeye nocked an arrow, aimed at Mikhlo and fired. A net burst from the arrowhead and flew toward the gorilla. Hawkeye charged, ready with another arrow.

The net stopped in mid-air.

Hawkeye looked right. Peotr held up his left hand, using his gravity powers to stop the net. He turned to Hawkeye, eyes narrowed, and flicked his wrist.

The net soared toward Hawkeye.

He rolled out of the way just as it hit the ground. He came up on one knee and launched another arrow. Peotr held up his hand. The arrow came to a stop, then spun high into the darkened sky.

Mikhlo bounded across the parking lot. Hawkeye hopped onto the hood of a nearby car, then jumped onto another car. Mikhlo knocked aside the first car. Hawkeye jumped to the ground and sprinted away, pulling out another arrow. Mikhlo took off after him. Hawkeye glanced over his shoulder. The big ape was twenty feet away. Fifteen.

Ten.

Mikhlo roared and lashed out with his arm. Hawkeye ducked, feeling a slight breeze wash over his head.

He dove to the right as Mikhlo took another swipe, missing him. Hawkeye rolled, then sprang to his feet. Mikhlo reared back his right fist.

Hawkeye fired. The arrow struck Mikhlo in the chest. Black smoke exploded from the tip and surrounded the gorilla. He stomped around and hacked.

Hawkeye scanned around him. Free Spirit flipped the baboon – Igor – over her shoulder. Peotr lowered the device to the ground and started toward him. He still saw no sign of the Red Ghost. That worried him. The Russian supervillain could become invisible. He could be anywhere.

_Take care of the apes first, then worry about the Red Ghost._

Peotr raised an SUV off the ground and flung it at Hawkeye. He dove to the right as the vehicle crashed on its grill and fell over on its roof. Hawkeye fired an arrow with a hard rubber tip. Peotr caught it in a gravity field and tossed it away.

"Any more brilliant ideas, Clint," Hawkeye muttered to himself.

Something roared nearby. Hawkeye turned to find Mikhlo charging him. He went for another arrow when a rush of wind came from overhead. He looked up.

Wonder Woman streaked just a few feet above him. Fists extended, she rammed into Mikhlo's gut. Both Amazon and mutated gorilla flew across the parking lot and tore through the chainlink fence. Blue sparks exploded from it. The damn thing was electrified. No surprise, given this was an OsCorp facility. Trees toppled as they crashed into them.

_Okay. Now it's one on one. Much better odds._

Peotr flung another car at Hawkeye. He rolled right. The car crashed into the asphalt, missing him by about ten feet.

He wondered how good the odds were taking on a gravity manipulating ape with trick arrows.

Hawkeye launched another smoke arrow. It detonated between him and Peotr. With the smoke cloud billowing, Hawkeye fired a flash/bang arrow and kept ran across the parking lot. A sharp _bang_ split the air. A bright orange flash lit up the dark. Peotr wailed, half from pain, half from anger.

Hawkeye ran toward the fence, pulling out another arrow. He didn't break stride as he fired. Acid spewed from the tip. White smoke rose from the fence as an entire section dissolved. Hawkeye jumped through the hole, rolled and came up on both feet. He turned and looked back to the parking lot.

Peotr rose into the air and floated toward him.

Hawkeye smiled. He wanted to lure the orangutan away from the device he had stolen. Hawkeye had no idea what it was, but if it came from OsCorp it had to be super hi-tech and would be very, very bad if the Red Ghost used it.

He dashed into a small park, trying to think what to do next, hoping Wonder Woman and Free Spirit were faring well against the other Super-Apes. He ducked behind a tree and peered around it. Peotr floated over the electrified fence, his head moving left to right, searching.

Hawkeye nocked a gas arrow. That should put the damn ape to sleep. Then he could try and find the Red Ghost.

_For all you know he could be standing next to you._

He pushed that thought to the back of his mind, watching Peotr hover over the park.

_A little closer . . . a little closer . . ._

He took a breath, exhaled halfway and stepped out from behind the tree. He took quick aim and fired. The arrow flew true.

Peotr raised his hand at the last second. The arrow shot higher into the air and exploded. A cloud of sleep gas hovered above the trees, too high to do anything to Peotr.

Hawkeye ran for another tree. Peotr aimed his left hand at a metal trash bin and hurled it at him. Hawkeye launched an exploding arrow. The trash bin vanished in a brief fireball. Flaming shards of metal dropped to the ground.

Suddenly they rose back into the air.

Hawkeye's jaw tightened. _This won't be good._

The flaming debris shot through the air like miniature comets, right at Hawkeye.

He turned and ran. Thirty feet away was Jamaica Bay.

His legs pumped harder. He glanced over his shoulder. The little artificial comets gained on him.

Teeth bared, Hawkeye charged for the water. His heart slammed into his chest. He willed himself to go faster.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed off from the bank, arms extended. He hit the water with a loud splash. Muffled zips sounded around him. He looked to the left. His waterproof NVGs picked up the trash bin debris, sizzling as they sank past him.

Hawkeye twisted in the water, still kicking, going deeper. Peotr would not follow him in. Mutated or not, apes don't like water.

There had to be a way to use that to his advantage.

He turned to the left and swam along the shoreline. Peotr would at least come up to the banks and look for him. He didn't think he'd hover over the water, not with a primal fear of water. And the ape would likely stand right where Hawkeye dove in, staring straight ahead, expecting him to resurface in front of him.

Hawkeye's lungs burned. He kicked toward the surface, reaching for an arrow. He fought the building urge to take a breath.

He slowed his kicks as he neared the surface. His head poked through the water. Hawkeye tried to be as quiet as possible. As much as he wanted to, he still didn't breathe. The last thing he wanted was for Peotr to hear him gasp for air.

There! The orangutan crouched by the shoreline, looking straight ahead.

Hawkeye slowly brought his bow out of the water. He pulled back on the string, aimed and fired. The taser arrow struck Peotr in the neck. A buzz surrounded the orangutan. He convulsed, mouth open, trying to cry out.

Hawkeye filled his lungs as Peotr fell on his side.

Relief flooded through him, but only for a moment. There were still two more Super-Apes to deal with, along with the Red Ghost.

Hawkeye swam to the shoreline and pulled himself out of Jamaica Bay. He jogged through the park, soaking wet. When he reached the fence he hit it with another acid arrow, enlarging the hole already in it. He wanted as much room as possible going through it. A drenched hero and an electrified fence did not make for a good combination.

He made it through without getting fried and hurried across the parking lot. He saw no sign of Wonder Woman and Mikhlo. He did see Free Spirit standing over an unconscious Igor.

"Looks like you've got things handled here," Hawkeye said.

Free Spirit looked up at him, breathing heavily, her sweaty hair clinging to her head and cheeks. She must have had one hell of a fight with the Super-Ape.

"Thanks for the assist." She checked around. "Any sign of the Red Ghost?"

"Nope." Hawkeye shook his head. "Haven't seen him."

"I am here, Avenger!"

Hawkeye just started to turn when a fist crashed into his back. He grimaced and stumbled forward. He tried to reach for an arrow when a second punch caught him behind the ear. Hawkeye kept his balance and turned around. A stocky, balding man with shock white hair and wearing a red tunic and pants stood before him.

The Red Ghost.

Hawkeye whipped his bow around, aiming at the supervillain's head. The Red Ghost went intangible a split-second before the bow reached his cheek. He let out a cackling laugh.

"Fool. You cannot hurt me, but there are ways I can hurt you."

The Red Ghost reached out for him. Hawkeye did a couple of back flips, putting some distance between them. He figured the Red Ghost wanted to phase his arm through him, then turn it solid.

Not a good thing.

Hawkeye kept backing up. The Red Ghost floated inches over the ground, an evil grin on his transparent face. Hawkeye plucked another arrow from his quiver.

"Come now, archer, you know your arrows will just go through me."

"Oh yeah. I know."

Hawkeye fired his arrow, closed his eyes and turned away. He heard a loud _pop_ and sensed a bright white light. The Red Ghost bellowed.

Hawkeye looked back at him. The supervillain had his hands pressed over his eyes. More importantly, he reverted back to his normal, solid form.

Hawkeye ran forward and launched himself at Red Ghost. The flying kick nailed the Russian in the side of the head. His arms flew out to his side as he crashed to the ground, unconscious. Not wanting to take a chance on the Red Ghost coming to, Hawkeye fired a gas arrow into the asphalt next to the supervillain's head. A dense white cloud formed over him. He'd be out for hours.

"How did you pulled that off?" Free Spirit walked up to him, rubbing her eyes.

"You may not be able to touch Red Ghost when he's intangible, but he still needs to see. That means his eyes are vulnerable to a flare arrow. I blind him, he loses his concentration and becomes solid again, and . . . well, you see the end result." He pointed to the still form of the Red Ghost.

"Yeah, well my eyes are vulnerable to that flare arrow, too."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It's worth it to catch this nutjob." Free Spirit blinked a few times and looked around. "Where's Wonder Woman at?"

"Right here."

They both looked up to see the Amazon descending, Mikhlo hanging over her shoulder. She dumped the unconscious ape on the ground before landing.

"What happened to you?" Wonder Woman looked over Hawkeye's soaked uniform.

"I fell into the bay. How else do you think I'd get this wet when there isn't a rain cloud in the sky?"

Wonder Woman folded her arms and tilted her head. "I can't wait to hear this story when we get back to the mansion." She then turned to Free Spirit. "So what were the Red Ghost and his apes doing here?"

"I've been after them for the past two days. Red Ghost wanted this quantum generator prototype OsCorp built. Apparently he wanted to use it to build a portal to alien worlds so he could steal their technology and build his own arsenal of superweapons. I think it's safe to say we foiled that plan. I'm just glad you two happened to be in the area."

"Actually, it wasn't just dumb luck we were here," said Hawkeye. "We've been looking for you."

"Why?"

"It's about Summoner."

Free Spirit froze for a second. She let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping.

"Free Spirit?" Wonder Woman stepped toward her. "Are you all right?"

The blond superheroine looked up, concern on her face. "Let me guess. This is about those energy beings he keeps seeing."

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	5. Chapter 5

"So what do you know about these energy beings?" asked Hawkeye.

"Not much." Free Spirit slowly walked to the parapet along the roof of the Kings Plaza Shopping Center, where the three had gone once the NYPD and SHIELD arrived to take away Red Ghost and his Super-Apes. "The one thing I do know, is that those damn things are the reason Summoner and I broke up."

"How did that happen?"

Free Spirit shut her eyes, her jaw stiffened. It looked like she tried to keep herself from crying.

Wonder Woman walked over to her, holding up a hand to Hawkeye. He nodded. He got the feeling this might be something best handled woman-to-woman.

"I don't understand." Wonder Woman put an arm around Free Spirit. "You two had been together for so long. How could it just end like that?"

"It started a few months ago. We were having dinner at Summoner's cabin when he thought he saw one of them hovering outside the window. We went out to check, but couldn't find anything."

Free Spirit paused for a few moments. "A couple of weeks later he told me he saw those things outside his cabin again. We looked all over, but couldn't find them. Then he started seeing them elsewhere. We'd search and search and search, but we never found any sign of them. Summoner started getting so frustrated. I told him maybe we should go to you guys or SHIELD or the Fantastic Four for help, but he said he could deal with it. I got more insistent the longer we went without finding them, but he kept saying we could do this on our own. Then there were a couple times Summoner went looking for the energy beings without me. When I asked why he didn't call me to help him he . . . he said, 'I don't need you for this.'"

Free Spirit's jaw quivered. Somehow she kept from crying.

"Then . . . then there was that day. We were in Albany fighting Jack O'Lantern when Summoner said he saw an energy being. He actually stopped fighting and pointed at Jack O'Lantern, saying it was right next to him, that they had to be working together. But . . . but I couldn't see anything."

She wiped at her right eye. "Jack O'Lantern almost got him with an electro-blast, but I pushed him out of the way just in time. Right after we took down Jack O'Lantern, Summoner he . . . he just started screaming at me."

Free Spirit's voice broke. Hawkeye grimaced and turned away. Part of him felt like he shouldn't be here.

"He said how could I not see it, that I thought he was lying about them, that I was useless and . . . and to stay away from him."

Now the tears came. Wonder Woman pulled Free Spirit into a hug. Hawkeye shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking at anything else but the two superheroines.

"I'm so sorry," Wonder Woman said in a soothing voice.

Free Spirit sniffled and pulled away from Wonder Woman. Again she wiped her eyes. "Two years. Two years we were together. And then these damn things show up. I can't even see them. And he . . . I've never seen him so mad. I still can't believe he said those things to me."

"Um, Free Spirit." Hawkeye stepped toward her, more than a little hesitant. "Did you ever think these energy beings can only reveal themselves to Summoner? That they maybe manipulating his mind?"

"I guess. I don't know, this whole thing has just been so . . . I don't know. There's something wrong with him. There has to be for him to act like that."

"I agree," said Hawkeye. "And I'm really starting to believe whatever these things are, they're messing with Summoner's head, big time. Why else would a guy like that keep flying off the handle?"

Wonder Woman nodded. "I think you might be on to something."

"Only one way to find out for sure. We grab a Quinjet and head back to Utica."

**XXXXX**

They landed about a mile from Summoner's cabin and hiked the rest of the way. Hawkeye knocked on the door and stepped back, pulling out a taser arrow. He prayed he didn't need to use it, but given Summoner's behavior of late he wanted to be ready, just in case.

No one answered.

Hawkeye knocked again, harder.

Again, no answer.

"Looks like we wait."

The three heroes sat on the porch, Free Spirit looking the most uncomfortable of them all. Not for the first time Hawkeye wondered if it was wise to bring her here. Wonder Woman had argued that Free Spirit might be able to get through to Summoner better than either of them. He had his doubts, given how their relationship ended, but ultimately agreed. Any chance to resolve this with words was better than having to taser his fellow hero and friend.

Hawkeye found himself nodding off a couple of times. He forced his eyelids back as far as they'd go. His stomach grumbled, sounding as loud as a roar from the Hulk. My God, he was starving! He cursed himself for not grabbing something back at Avengers Mansion before they flew to Utica.

_If people could see me now. _Most of the public only saw superheroes on TV or read about them in newspapers or online news sites battling some supervillain. How many ever considered that, despite their powers and abilities, they were still flesh and blood people? They needed food and sleep to keep going, just like regular folks.

His eyelids slid shut. Hawkeye felt himself drifting off to sleep. Maybe a five-minute cat nap wouldn't be so –

A rush of wind brought him fully awake. He sprang to his feet, gripping his bow. Wonder Woman also rose, as did Free Spirit, who swallowed as she looked up into the night sky.

Summoner descended through the trees and landed twenty feet away. He stood his ground, glaring at them.

"What are you doing here?" His focus shifted to Free Spirit. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Free Spirit actually took a step back. She then drew a deep breath and straightened her back. "S-Summoner, we're just here to help."

"Help?" he snapped. "Why would I want your help?"

Free Spirit opened her mouth, but remained silent.

Wonder Woman stepped forward. "Summoner, these energy beings, we think they might be affecting your mind."

"They're not. I'm fine."

"No you're not," said Hawkeye. "All these outbursts you've been having, especially with Free Spirit, it's not like you. Something is wrong and we want to help you."

Summoner took a step back, shaking his head. "No. No, you don't want to help. You just want to stop these things yourselves. It's always about the Avengers. You want people to think you're the only ones who can save the world. You want everyone to forget that there are other heroes out there like me, who work just as hard as you do to protect everyone."

A bewildered look formed on Hawkeye's face. What the hell brought that on? Summoner had never been concerned about fame or recognition. He had become a hero because he believed it was the right thing to do.

It was further proof something was seriously wrong with Summoner.

"Look, just take it easy," said Hawkeye. "Let us take you back to New York. We can go see Reed Richards. I'm sure he can figure out what's wrong with you."

"Nothing is wrong with me! You're not . . ." Summoner's eyes widened. His left hand shot up, pointing to the cabin. "There! They're here!"

Hawkeye looked to his right. He saw the porch, Wonder Woman and Free Spirit. Nothing else.

"Summoner," Free Spirit spoke in a hesitant tone. "I-I don't see anything."

"Dammit, they're right next to you! How can you not see them?"

Again Hawkeye looked around. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. The hair on the back of his neck did not stand on end like it normally did when he felt things weren't right.

Summoner slowly turned his head left to right. His shoulders rose and fell with deliberate breaths. Hawkeye pulled the string of his bow back a couple of inches.

"Yes, yes," Summoner said. "It's all clear to me now."

"What is?" asked Wonder Woman.

"The energy beings. You're in league with them."

"What?" Hawkeye just stared at Summoner in shock.

"You're helping them to take over the world. Well I won't allow it!"

Summoner thrust his Elemental Stick forward.

Hawkeye brought up his bow.

A hurricane-force wind screamed around him. Hawkeye flew backwards and slammed into the cabin wall.

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	6. Chapter 6

Hawkeye gritted his teeth, pain hammering his back. He looked around for his taser arrow. It lay a few feet away, snapped in half.

"Paul," Free Spirit called out Summoner's real name. She pushed herself to her knees, holding out a pleading hand. "Paul, don't do this."

Summoner gave her a hard stare. He slowly raised both arms.

Thick columns of dirt shot from the ground. One bore down on Hawkeye. He fought off the pain and leaped off the porch. The dirt slammed through the wood surface. Dozens of splinters shot into the air.

He rolled on the ground and came up in a crouch. Free Spirit also dodged a dirt column. Wonder Woman wasn't as fortunate. A stream of dirt slammed into her. She dug her heels into the ground, trying to push through it.

"Cap," Hawkeye said into his comm as he nocked an arrow. "We can use your help."

"We're on the way."

Captain America barely finished the sentence when Hawkeye launched his arrow. A net sprang from the tip and soared toward Summoner.

A gust of wind rose. The net twisted and tumbled over Summoner's head. It landed harmlessly on the ground.

Wonder Woman pushed her way through the dirt geyser. One step, then another, and another. It was slow going, but she closed the distance between her and Summoner.

Until the ground under her feet exploded. She tumbled through the air and crashed onto the cabin's roof. It caved in. She disappeared from sight.

Hawkeye launched a bola arrow. Again Summoner deflected it with a gust of wind.

The ground undulated. Waves of dirt rushed toward him.

"Crap." Hawkeye turned and ran. He pulled out a cable arrow and launched it. It wrapped around a nearby tree and hauled him off the ground. He looked down as the dirt tidal wave rushed beneath him.

"Dammit, Paul! Enough!" Free Spirit took a running leap at him.

Summoner caught her with a burst of wind. Free Spirit spun through the air and slammed into a tree.

Summoner turned toward Hawkeye. He lifted his Elemental Stick into the air. Hawkeye stiffened when he heard a groan and a crunch below him. The tree he clung to trembled. He looked down.

The roots tore loose from the ground. The tree wobbled and started to fall.

Hawkeye grabbed the cable and swung away. Just as he felt himself get pulled back, he let go. He relaxed his body just before he hit the ground. Hawkeye tucked, rolled and sprang to his feet. He grabbed another arrow and launched it. The tip broke apart. Half-a-dozen little pellets flew toward Summoner, each containing pepperspray.

A wall of dirt shot up next to Summoner. The pellets struck it and exploded into a yellow cloud.

The dirt wall collapsed. Summoner glared at Hawkeye.

"Traitor! How could you work for those things?"

"I'm not. They've done something to your head. Let me help -"

"Shut up!" Summoner pointed his Elemental Stick at Hawkeye. "I'm not going to listen to any more of your lies."

A huge dirt fist burst from the ground. It arced over and plunged toward Hawkeye.

He rolled left. The fist crashed into the ground. A slight tremor rippled underneath him.

The fist rose again. Hawkeye tensed, waiting for it to . . .

A loud whine filled the air. He glanced past the fist. A rounded, winged object hovered overhead.

A Quinjet!

Hawkeye smiled, grateful for the fact he had the other Avengers stationed nearby for back-up.

A large, silvery figure jumped from the Quinjet. Hawkeye watched as Colossus dropped right onto the fist. It exploded into a shower of dirt.

"Hawkeye. Are you all right?"

"For now." Hawkeye got to his feet and snatched another arrow. He spotted Wasp and Black Lightning flying toward Summoner. A whirlwind sprang up. Wasp barely dodged it. The swirling dust clipped Black Lightning. He spiraled through the air and bounced along the ground.

Wasp righted herself in mid-air and fired her stinger blasts. The bolts just missed Summoner. Geysers of dirt erupted around Wasp. One struck her. She spun head over heels into the ground.

Hawkeye launched a smoke arrow. It exploded several feet from Summoner. A black cloud hung between the Algonquian and the two Avengers.

"That should district him for a few seconds," said Hawkeye.

"That is all I need."

Colossus charged forward and disappeared in the smoke. Hawkeye moved around the cloud, another arrow at the ready. At the same time Wonder Woman flew out of the hole in the roof and dove toward Summoner. Hope rose within Hawkeye. He prayed the two strongest members of the Avengers could take down Summoner.

When he made it around the smoke cloud, his hope waned. Summoner had transformed his skin and stick into solid rock. He punched Colossus in the jaw. The metallic mutant reeled. Summoner then swung his stick in an arc. It struck Wonder Woman in the head. She fell to the ground and slowly pushed herself to all fours.

Summoner nailed Colossus with a sidekick. He then stood over Wonder Woman, stick raised.

Hawkeye launched his arrow. Bolas shot from the tip and wrapped around Summoner's legs. He staggered and fell.

Hawkeye had a sleeping gas arrow ready to fire when the ground shook. A huge dirt fist sprang up before him.

"You really think your stupid arrows can stop me?"

The fist fell toward Hawkeye. He jumped out of the way just as it slammed into the ground. Hawkeye replaced his sleeping gas arrow with an exploding one. He took quick aim and fired. A burst of orange and black tore apart the fist. Dirt clumps shot off in all directions.

The fist reformed.

Hawkeye dodged another blow. He spotted Summoner, free of the bolas and on his feet. So was Wonder Woman.

Summoner gave her a spinning kick to the head. Wonder Woman staggered, barely keeping her balance. Summoner grabbed her by her dark hair and threw her at the cabin. The wall exploded as she went through it.

Hawkeye dodged another blow by the dirt fist. Another. On his third dodge the fist swept up. He tried to duck, but it caught him in the side. Fiery pain pierced his ribs as he soared through the air. He hit the ground and cried out, clutching his side.

Summoner dodged a blow from Colossus. He grabbed the mutant's arm and flipped him over his shoulder. Colossus slammed down on his back. Summoner stomped on his gut twice.

Suddenly he turned around. Grimacing, Hawkeye followed Summoner's gaze. In the distance, branches shook. A high-pitched whistle screamed through the trees.

_Flash!_

Dirt shot up near Summoner and twisted into a cone. When it settled, Hawkeye saw Flash's head and shoulders sticking out of the dirt encasement.

"Hey! What gives?"

"I'm attuned to the elements, Flash. I sensed your footsteps the moment you left the Quinjet and was prepared."

"Did you sense us, too?"

Captain America and Dr. Mid-Nite emerged from the forest. Cap flung his shield and the red and black-clad hero threw blackout bombs. A wall of dirt formed in front of Summoner. The shield bounced off it and back to Captain America. The blackout bombs exploded against the wall, forming a cloud of darkness.

Captain America dashed forward, trying to work his way around the right side of the wall. Dr. Mid-Nite took the left side.

Hawkeye came up from behind and fired a sleeping gas arrow. Summoner glanced over his shoulder. A gust of wind sent the arrow spinning away from him . . .

And right at Dr. Mid-Nite!

The tip burst into a white cloud. Dr. Mid-Nite doubled over, hacking. He sagged to his knees, then fell on his side.

_Good one, Clint. _Hawkeye scowled as he stared at the unconscious Avenger.

Geysers of dirt shot out of the ground around Captain America. He avoided one after the other.

Something rumbled inside the cabin. Hawkeye thought, hoped, Wonder Woman was coming out to rejoin the fight.

Instead water gushed out the hole in the wall. It slammed into Cap and sent him tumbling across the ground.

_I forgot about the plumbing. _It didn't matter if it came from a lake or a faucet. If it was water, Summoner could control it.

The ground trembled. Trees uprooted and fell.

Some fell toward Hawkeye.

He sprinted and leaped, evading one tree after another. When he looked back he saw much of the ground covered by fallen trees.

Hawkeye took cover behind one of them. He watched Summoner club Colossus as he struggled to his feet. Anger shot through him. There had to be a way to nail him with an arrow. He couldn't imagine how, since Summoner could sense the very air around him.

_Maybe the direct approach. _If he or another Avenger got close enough to Summoner to rip that Elemental Stick from him, the fight would be over. He had to maintain contact with the stick for his powers to work.

The trouble was getting close without having the ground explode around them.

Colossus got a shot in. Summoner took a few steps back. Colossus ambled forward and nailed him with a right cross. Summoner staggered, but didn't go down. Colossus threw another punch. Summoner stepped to the side. He then launched himself at Colossus. Both men tumbled to the ground.

"We've gotta get that stick away from him."

Hawkeye turned to find Free Spirit next to him.

"Trust me, the thought already occurred to me."

Free Spirit pressed her palms against the fallen tree, staring straight ahead. Summoner created another dirt hand that grabbed Colossus and threw him into the darkness. The Algonquian's skin changed from rock back to flesh. He scanned around him, stick raised, searching for more targets.

"I'm going to talk to him," said Free Spirit.

"Yeah, because that worked so well the last time."

She shot Hawkeye a harsh look, then frowned. "If anything, maybe I can distract him. Give you and the other Avengers a chance to take him down."

"You understand we're gonna have to take him down hard."

Free Spirit's face tightened. She forced herself to nod. "Just try not to do it too hard."

"We'll see."

Free Spirit sighed and jumped over the tree.

"Paul! Paul, please!"

Summoner turned toward her, teeth bared. "You!" He started to bring up his stick.

Hawkeye pulled out a taser arrow and nocked it.

"Don't, please!" Free Spirit held up her hands. "Let's just talk."

"Talk? I tried talking to you for months. I tried warning you about those energy beings. But you thought I was lying. Now you're working for them! How could you betray the human race like that?"

"I'm not working for them. I . . . I just can't see them. Maybe . . . maybe they're manipulating everyone's perception. Maybe they're hiding themselves from everyone."

Hawkeye waited for a dirt geyser or a blast of wind to knock down Free Spirit. Instead Summoner let her walk closer to him.

_Good girl. Keep it up._

"Why would they do that?" Summoner demanded. "Why?"

"I don't know." Free Spirit paused. "These things, who knows where they come from? Who knows how they think or why they do what they do? Maybe . . . maybe they're not here to attack us. Maybe they want just want to establish contact with us. Paul . . . Summoner. Your powers give you control over the elements. You can sense anything in the air or in the ground or in water. You said it yourself. You're in tune with the elements. Maybe that's why they chose to reveal themselves to you."

Summoner stood still for several seconds. He lowered his stick.

Hawkeye slowly pulled back on his bow.

"You might be right," Summoner said. "Why didn't you say that before?"

Free Spirit stopped. Hawkeye sensed her tensing. Damn, just when this was starting to work.

"I guess it just took a while to figure out. But I did, and I'm telling you now."

Summoner looked away. He lowered his stick more.

Hawkeye pulled back a little more on his bow.

"They chose me," Summoner muttered. "They chose me."

"They did." She took another step closer to him.

Hawkeye carefully slid along the tree, wanting to make sure Free Spirit wasn't in his line of fire.

"I should have realized this sooner," said Free Spirit. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I made you doubt me. I'm so sorry for any grief I caused you."

She took another step forward, arms outstretched. "I love you, Paul."

Summoner stared at her. He swallowed and came toward Free Spirit. "I love you, too."

He brought up his arms to hug her.

Hawkeye zeroed in on Summoner's right hand. He took into account the Algonquian's movements, the distance between them, the breeze, the temperature, the compensation for arrow drag.

All in the span of less than a second.

Hawkeye let go of the string.

The arrow hit Summoner in the fingers of his clenched right hand. He stiffened as a sharp buzz emitted from the arrow. Soon he went into convulsions.

The Elemental Stick fell from his grasp. Free Spirit kicked it away.

Summoner let out a choking gasp and fell on his back.

Hawkeye leapt over the tree and bounded toward him. Free Spirit was already at Summoner's side, checking on him.

"His pulse and breathing are strong."

Hawkeye nodded. He then looked around. Captain America, Wasp and Black Lightning had all gotten back on their feet. Wonder Woman and Colossus joined them, still shaking off the cobwebs. The dirt mound encasing Flash collapsed, freeing him.

"Okay, that could have gone better." Flash looked at Dr. Mid-Nite, still lying unconscious on the ground.

"I guess someone's gonna have to carry him back to the Quinjet . . . not it!"

"Good work, Hawkeye." Captain America walked up to him, then turned his attention to Summoner.

"What do we do with him now?" asked Hawkeye.

"I'll contact SHIELD and tell them to prep the Helicarrier's sick bay for Summoner. Hopefully they can find out what's wrong with him."

Hawkeye looked down at Summoner. "Yeah. Hopefully."

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	7. Chapter 7

Hawkeye hated waiting.

Given the nature of his profession, he was used to doing things. Training, exercising, fighting, monitoring for threats, making public appearances for charitable and civic organizations. He was an active person.

Inactivity made him feel lazy and useless.

He just leaned against the bulkhead of the SHIELD helicarrier, constantly staring down the corridor at the fifth door from him. Behind that door, doctors and nurses examined Summoner.

Hawkeye scowled, pressing his folded arms harder against his chest. He stared hard at the door, willing someone to come out and tell him Summoner would be fine.

_Please, God, let him be fine._

He looked at the other Avengers. Wonder Woman had an arm around Free Spirit, who made no attempt to hide her worry. Captain America and Colossus maintained stoic expressions, though Hawkeye knew beneath their brave visages they were just as concerned for Summoner as anyone. Black Lightning and Flash seemed even more impatient than Hawkeye.

At least the remaining two Avengers had stuff to keep them busy. Wasp had gone off to help SHIELD agents gather intelligence on the whereabouts of supervillains specializing in mental manipulation who may have affected Summoner. Dr. Mid-Nite – who was an actual medical doctor – aided the SHIELD medical staff in their examination of Summoner.

_Nice to be useful._

Hawkeye groaned and stared at the floor.

He had no idea how much time passed before the door to the examination room slid open. Out stepped Dr. Mid-Nite and the Director of SHIELD himself, Nick Fury.

"How is he?" Free Spirit rushed over to them.

"He's fine," Dr. Mid-Nite answered.

"Oh thank God." Free Spirit placed both hands over her heart.

The veins in Dr. Mid-Nite's neck stuck out. Hawkeye stiffened. He had a feeling his fellow Avenger had more news to share.

He doubted it would be good news.

"I should rephrase that. Summoner is fine physically. We found no sign of any cerebral trauma, no evidence of disease or psychic intrusion."

"We also couldn't find any anomalous energy readings around him or his cabin in Utica," said Fury. "Bottom line, people, these energy beings Summoner spoke of don't exist."

"But he wouldn't just make that up," Free Spirit blurted.

"I agree," Hawkeye added. "C'mon, Fury, you know him as well as I do. Summoner doesn't make up stories."

"I wouldn't say he's making this up," Dr. Mid-Nite said. "I'm sure these energy beings are very real to him."

A perplexed look formed on Captain America's face. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"After we did all our medical tests on Summoner, one of SHIELD's psychiatrists had a session with him. It's his conclusion that Summoner is suffering from schizophrenia."

"What?" Free Spirit gaped at Dr. Mid-Nite.

Hawkeye found himself numbed by the news. Schizophrenia? Summoner had a mental illness?

_But how?_ He'd served with distinction in the Air Force. They'd fought side-by-side on numerous occasions. He'd always been cool under pressure.

How the hell could this happen to him?

"The psychiatrist thinks that's where the energy beings came from," Dr. Mid-Nite explained. "They were hallucinations, one of the more common symptoms of schizophrenia. Pushing you away, Free Spirit, being reluctant to accept our help, long periods of silence around us. Those were signs of social isolation."

"And lashing out at us the way he did?" asked Captain America.

"It looks like that was related to his delusions and paranoia. Summoner apparently believed he was the only one who could stop these energy beings, especially since he was the only one who could see them. When any of us cast doubt on their existence, we became an enemy to him."

"What . . . what'll happen now?" Free Spirit asked in a shaky voice.

"We'll keep him here on the helicarrier," Fury told her. "You have my word, Summoner will receive the best treatment possible. We'll also contact the Algonquian tribal elders. They might be able to help, too."

"Will they let Summoner keep his Elemental Stick, given his condition?" asked Wonder Woman.

Fury gave a slight shrug. "I don't know. I guess that'll be up to the elders."

Tears trickled from Free Spirit's eyes. "Oh no. He worked so hard to earn the Elemental Stick. Being Summoner meant so much to him."

Wonder Woman put a comforting hand on Free Spirit's shoulder.

Hawkeye shook his head. He turned and slowly walked away.

_Schizophrenia. Summoner has schizophrenia._

He turned down another corridor and leaned against the bulkhead. He'd been so sure Summoner had been under the influence of some outside force, be it these unseen energy beings or some supervillain.

Instead the problem had been inside him all along.

And he hadn't even considered that possibility.

"Hawkeye?"

He turned to find Wonder Woman behind him.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Hawkeye exhaled slowly. "I never expected that. All the things we deal with, and it turns out to be schizophrenia, something regular folks can get."

"You got broken ribs during our fight with Summoner. Regular people get those, too."

"It's not the same. Broken ribs, separated shoulders, fractured wrists, concussions. That comes with the territory. But those things you get in fights. You can defend yourself from kicks and punches. What the hell can you do when one little wire in your head short circuits?"

He faced the bulkhead, pressing a hand against it. "Maybe that's our problem."

"What?"

"Everything we deal with is out of the ordinary. Superpowered beings, alien invaders, cosmic entities. Out of the ordinary is the norm for us. Summoner's not acting like himself and we start thinking mental manipulation. We start thinking something not of this world. None of us even stopped to think he could be suffering from a mental disorder."

"You're right." Wonder Woman's eyes flickered around the corridor, looking unsure of what else to say.

"You know what else is scary about this? Look at all the stuff we can do. Fly, throw lightning bolts, transform flesh into organic metal, run beyond supersonic speed, control the elements of the earth . . . put an arrow through the center of a quarter. But when you get right down to it, we're all human. What's to prevent what happened to Summoner happening to any one of us?"

"I think you know the answer to that, just like I do."

Wonder Woman stepped forward and looked him in the eye.

"Nothing."

_**THE END**_


End file.
